Numbers 5:27

Numbers 5:27 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.
• New International Version (NIV)If she has made herself impure and been unfaithful to her husband, this will be the result: When she is made to drink the water that brings a curse and causes bitter suffering, it will enter her, her abdomen will swell and her womb will miscarry, and she will become a curse.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when he has made her drink the water, then, if she has defiled herself and has broken faith with her husband, the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain, and her womb shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away, and the woman shall become a curse among her people.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people.

Context of Numbers 5:27

25The priest will take the grain offering she was holding, present it to the Lord, and bring it to the altar. 26The priest will take a handful of the grain offering as a memorial portion and burn it on the altar. Then he will have the woman drink the water. If she has become unclean by being unfaithful to her husband, the water that can bring the curse will go into her and become bitter. Her stomach will swell, her uterus will drop, and she will become cursed among her people. 28But if the woman is not unclean and is pure, she is not guilty and will be able to have children. 29“These are the instructions for how to deal with jealousy. They tell you what to do when a woman is unfaithful to her husband and becomes unclean.

Numbers 5:27 word by word

וְהִשְׁקָ֣הּ אֶת־הַמַּ֗יִם וְהָיְתָ֣ה אִֽם־נִטְמְאָה֮ וַתִּמְעֹ֣ל מַ֣עַל בְּאִישָׁהּ֒ וּבָ֨אוּ בָ֜הּ הַמַּ֤יִם הַמְאָֽרֲרִים֙ לְמָרִ֔ים וְצָבְתָ֣ה בִטְנָ֔הּ וְנָפְלָ֖ה יְרֵכָ֑הּ וְהָיְתָ֧ה הָאִשָּׁ֛ה לְאָלָ֖ה בְּקֶ֥רֶב עַמָּֽהּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when he hath made her to drinkשָׁקָהshâqâh · to water: drinkH8248
• the waterמַיmayim · waterH4325
• if she be defiledטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• and have doneמָעַלmâ‛al · be unfaithfulH4603
• trespassמַ֫עַלma‛al · unfaithfulnessH4604
• against her husbandאִישׁ'îysh · man: husbandH376
• that causeth the curseאָרַר'ârar · to curseH779
• shall enterבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• bitterמַרmar mârâh · bitterH4751
• and her bellyבֶּ֫טֶןbeţen · belly: wombH990
• shall swellצָבָהtsâbâh · to swellH6638
• and her thighיָרֵךְyârêk · thighH3409
• shall rotנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
• and the womanאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · womanH802
• shall be a curseאָלָה'âlâh · oathH423
• amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130
• her peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971

Cross-references for Numbers 5:27

• Numbers 5:20If, in fact, you have been unfaithful and have had sexual intercourse with another man,
• Proverbs 5:4but in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword.
• Ecclesiastes 7:26I find that a woman whose thoughts are ⌞like⌟ traps and snares is more bitter than death itself. Even her hands are ⌞like⌟ chains. Whoever pleases God will escape her, but she will catch whoever continues to sin.
• Romans 6:21What did you gain by doing those things? You’re ashamed of what you used to do because it ended in death.
• 2 Corinthians 2:16To some people we are a deadly fragrance, while to others we are a life-giving fragrance. Who is qualified to tell about Christ?
• Hebrews 10:26If we go on sinning after we have learned the truth, no sacrifice can take away our sins.
• 2 Peter 2:10This is especially true of those who follow their corrupt nature along the path of impure desires and who despise the Lord’s authority. These false teachers are bold and arrogant. They aren’t afraid to insult the ⌞Lord’s⌟ glory.
• Deuteronomy 28:37You will become a thing of horror. All the nations where the Lord will send you will make an example of you and ridicule you.
• Psalms 83:9Do to them what you did to Midian, to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.
• Isaiah 65:15Your name will be used as a curse by my chosen ones. The Almighty Lord will kill you and call his servants by another name.
• Jeremiah 24:9I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth. They will be a disgrace and an example. They will become something ridiculed and cursed wherever I scatter them.
• Jeremiah 29:18I will chase them with wars, famines, and plagues. I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms on the earth. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and hissed at, and they will be a disgrace among all the nations where I scatter them.
• Jeremiah 42:18“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: As my anger and my fury were poured out on those who live in Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become a curse word. You will become something ridiculed, cursed, and disgraced. You won’t see this place again.
• Zechariah 8:13Just as you, people of Judah and people of Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will now save you, and you will become a blessing. Don’t be afraid. Let your hands work hard.

Commentaries on Numbers 5:27

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11-31Verses 11-31 The trial of jealousy. Since the crime of adultery is especially defiling and destructive of the very foundations of social order, the whole subject is dealt with at a length proportionate to its importance. The process prescribed has lately been strikingly illustrated from an Egyptian “romance,” which refers to the time of Rameses the Great, and may therefore well serve to illustrate the manners and customs of the Mosaic times. This mode of…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-31Verses 11-31 This law would make the women of Israel watch against giving cause for suspicion. On the other hand, it would hinder the cruel treatment such suspicions might occasion. It would also hinder the guilty from escaping, and the innocent from coming under just suspicion. When no proof could be brought, the wife was called on to make this solemn appeal to a heart-searching God. No woman, if she were guilty, could say "Amen" to the adjuration, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11-31This detailed test for adultery, a "trial by ordeal," is the only one in the Old Testament. Yet, trial by ordeal was common in the ancient Near East. God had a special interest in protecting marriage. It was the foundation of Hebrew society. The ordeal was intended to promote marital faithfulness. We do not know how often such ordeals actually happened. This procedure relied on God to intervene so that justice occurred when evidence was lacking (see 1…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 11-3112-15. if any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him--This law was given both as a strong discouragement to conjugal infidelity on the part of a wife, and a sufficient protection of her from the consequences of a hasty and groundless suspicion on the part of the husband. His suspicions, however, were sufficient in the absence of witnesses (Le 20:10) to warrant the trial described; and the course of proceeding to be followed was for the…Read the comment

Topics related to Numbers 5:27

• Adultery
• Bitter Water
• Husband
• Jealousy
• Priest
• Self-Incrimination
• Wife
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Adultery
• Close
• Conceive
• Cross
• Curse
• Jealousy, Waters of
• Recompense
• Sinai
• Water of jealousy
• Alexander

Commentaries on Numbers 5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary